Free guide from Property Shield, your neighbors in pest control for Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, the Silver Valley and North Idaho. Most of the time, pest problems start with small things around the house that nobody thinks about. Here are the eight things we see over and over on service calls, and what you can do about them yourself. No gimmicks, no sales pitch. If you’d rather have us take a look, the free quote button is at the bottom.
1. Most bugs walk in through gaps you can fix in an afternoon
Ants, spiders, earwigs and boxelder bugs rarely need a door. A mouse fits through a hole the size of a dime, and a quarter-inch gap under a garage door is a highway. Walk around the outside of your house once a year with a tube of exterior caulk and a can of foam sealant. Check where pipes and cables go through the wall, around window frames, under siding, and the weather stripping on every outside door. If you can see daylight under a door, so can the pests.
2. Water attracts more pests than food does
Everything that crawls needs to drink. Dripping outdoor faucets, leaking sprinkler heads, clogged gutters, a damp crawl space, or a dehumidifier that isn’t running in the basement will pull in ants, spiders, silverfish, earwigs and mice. Fix leaks, make sure downspouts carry water away from the foundation, and keep bathroom and kitchen fans working. A dry house is a boring house to a bug.
3. Your firewood, mulch and shrubs are a bridge to your house
Firewood stacked against the siding, bark mulch piled up to the foundation, and bushes touching the house all give pests cover, moisture and a direct route indoors. Keep firewood off the ground and at least 20 feet from the house (and bring in only what you’ll burn that day). Pull mulch back a few inches from the foundation. Trim shrubs and tree branches so nothing touches the walls or roof. Rodents and carpenter ants use branches like ladders.
4. Pet food and bird seed feed more than your pets
A bowl of kibble left out overnight, a bag of dog food in the garage, or a bird feeder near the house is a steady meal for mice, rats, ants and yellowjackets. Store pet food and bird seed in sealed metal or hard plastic bins (mice chew through bags and thin plastic), pick up bowls at night, and put feeders well away from the house. The same goes for the garbage cans: tight lids, and rinse them out now and then.
5. Store-bought sprays usually push the problem around instead of solving it
Spraying ants in the kitchen kills the ones you see and tells the colony to split up and come in somewhere else. The products we use for ants and many other pests are slow-acting baits and non-repellent treatments so the workers carry them back to the nest, which is where the problem actually lives. If you do use a store product, read the whole label, keep it away from kids and pets, and don’t mix products. More is not better.
6. Bed bugs don’t mean a dirty house, and heat alone doesn’t always finish them
Bed bugs hitchhike on luggage, used furniture and backpacks. The cleanest home in Spokane can get them from one hotel stay. Check mattress seams, box springs and the headboard for small dark spots or the bugs themselves, and inspect secondhand furniture before it comes inside. When you travel, keep luggage off the floor and bed, and run clothes through a hot dryer when you get home. If you find bed bugs, call a professional early. The longer they go, the more rooms they spread to. You can read more on our Bed Bugs page.
7. Fall is when mice decide where to spend the winter
Once nights get cold in September and October, mice and rats move in. Do your sealing work before then, not after you hear scratching in the walls. Look at the garage door seals, the gap where the dryer vent goes out, and around the foundation vents. Keep the garage and shed tidy. Clutter is housing. Snap traps along walls, bait end facing the wall, still work better than most gadgets. If you’re seeing droppings in more than one room, it’s past the point of a trap or two.
8. You should never pay a $300 “sign-up fee” for pest control
Many national companies charge an “initial service” or “sign-up” fee of $250 to $350 before your first regular visit, then lock you into a long contract. We don’t, and we never have. Our plans are priced per visit, with no initiation fee on any of them, and most families do best on the Quarterly plan. Before you sign with anyone, ask three questions: Is there a start-up fee? How long is the contract? What happens if the bugs come back between visits? You can see exactly what we charge on our Pricing page.
When it’s time to call someone
Do the eight things above and you’ll prevent most pest problems before they start. Call a professional when you see the same pest in several rooms, when you find droppings or nests, when there are wasps or bees building where people walk, or any time bed bugs are involved. Property Shield is family-owned and locally operated. We serve Spokane and the surrounding area, Coeur d’Alene, the Silver Valley from St. Maries to Wallace and Mullan, and north through Sandpoint. Our treatments are chosen with families and pets in mind, and we’re happy to just answer questions on the phone.
Or call 208-889-9222, Monday to Friday 9 to 5. Emergency call-outs available.